TW: Sexual Abuse - (short and implicit scene)
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Amari was waiting outside my house as I banged the screen door closed and picked my skateboard up from the garage. I was a little late today because I couldn't find my earphones and a day without Arctic Monkeys drowning out the sounds of Calculus was a day wasted.
"Dylan James is having a party tomorrow night, you down?" I dodged Amari's long arms as they tried to ruffle my hair.
I shrugged and smiled sarcastically up at him, "don't you have B-ball Saturday morning?"
"I ain't drinking." Amari rolled his eyes.
"Where's Jaz?" I looked down the street to see if she was coming.
"She's at school already, Ko...she's got dance recitals every Thursday morning."
"Damn." I said before sliding onto my skateboard and flipping onto the footpath.
"You look tired." Amari scanned his eyes over my outfit, "you up again last night?"
I shrugged and lied, "nah, just couldn't sleep."
Amari eyed me like he didn't believe me, "whatever, idiot."
"No, actually my dad's a doctor, you're the idiot."
"Shut up, dickhead."
We continued bickering until we reached school.
"Dude, what's Fischer doing at your locker?" Amari asked in confusion when we walked into the hall.
"What do you mean –
Greed was leaning against my locker. His grey hoodie obscured his face, but I could see his jaw clenching in anger as he played with my earphones that dangled from his fingers. My earphones!
"Greed, what are you..." I trailed off as I took in his face.
The bruises had started to fade and in place of the old cuts and scrapes was a fresh, dark, purple bruise the size of a fist on his cheek. His violet eyes were hard and sharp and I felt like I was choking when he glowered down at me.
Violent Angel.
Amari touched my shoulder and said he had to get to class, he looked like he didn't want to leave but I nodded at him reassurance.
"Who did that?" I asked, knowing what answer I would get.
"No one, Bambi," Greed sighed before jerking his head, "let's go."
"Go?" I frowned, "it's school, Greed –
"I won't repeat myself, Iniko."
I swallowed and berated myself for being turned on.
"No, loser! I'm not going anywhere with you –
Greed slammed me up against the lockers and it took me a few seconds longer than normal to recover from the pain that bruised down my back. I held my breath as he leaned in close, violet eyes ablaze with fury. "Now, Oreo."
I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay.
I fumed from behind him, "I'm supposed to be the only person you have left! You don't go slamming that person against lockers, do you? No, you supernatural wraith, you don't."
"Pirahna." Violet eyes flashed dangerously and I swallowed nervously. Damn him for being so fucking terrifying.
"Where are we going anyway?" I grumbled as I climbed into the passenger seat of his car and chucked my skateboard in the backseat.
"To talk to someone, Iniko...but first," he gritted his teeth and the expression on his face cemented the fact that this man was truly the scariest person on the planet, "I have to get something."
Greed pulled up to what I assumed was his house. He unbuckled his seatbelt before turning those violet eyes on me and growling, "you stay in the car, Baby Doll..."
His unspoken threat had me severely intimidated but I was happy when he chucked me my earphones, "w-whatever."
Greed's house seemed peaceful enough with a small yard that was tied neatly on either side with a brown wooden fence. The grass was slightly overgrown but the path to his house was given by a cemented footpath. I watched his back in thought, before slipping my earphones in and blasting Spacey Jane.
I leaned back in my seat and watched Greed as he climbed in through his window. It occurred to me that his choice of entry was slightly strange considering that it was his house, but I figured that if someone was home then he wouldn't want them knowing he was skipping school.
I thought briefly about it and then the bruises on Greed's face. Did going through the window mean avoiding the person who had done that? Then my thoughts went on to think – what made Greed want to die like he did? And did it have anything to do with the fact that he went in through the window rather than the front door?
Ten minutes had passed and I was started to get anxious. What the fuck was he doing in there that was taking so damn long?
I was restless because the longer he was taking the more I felt like something had gone horribly wrong. I mean the bruises. The anger. The bridge. My anxiety wasn't misplaced. I looked up, looked down and then back at his window, expecting him to be there.
"Fuck this."
I unbuckled myself quickly, ripped my earphones out and yanked the passenger door open. First of all, I didn't know what I was planning on doing, it wasn't like I could just waltz in there like I owned the place and demand that Greed hurried the fuck up.
One step onto the cement path made me realise that this place wasn't as peaceful as I initially thought. A wind chime creaked eerily on the porch and a shiver ran down my spine at the emptiness that seemed to seep from the ground.
I walked quietly to the front door and noticed a small clear pane in the stained-glass window. My heart roared in my ears until all I could hear was its erratic beating. I shielded my eyes from the sun and looked in – from this moment, I wished I had stayed in the car.
Horror is gradual. Like a slithering snake approaching. First, you're shocked and in the time that you're shocked, horror creeps onto you until its icy fingers are grabbing the back of your neck. It paralyses you so that fear can do its dirty work.
Greed Fischer stood by the wall; head tilted to the ceiling; a hand gripped his jaw tightly that without the owner's white knuckles to indicate its maliciousness would almost seem loving. His father was tall and muscular, he was tan unlike Greed, his hair was brown and from this distance it was hard to see his features properly. His father's other hand slid down Greed's chest until he reached the waistband of Greed's tracksuit pants.
I felt sick.
Greed's face haunted me. It was bare. Like he was looking without seeing. Like he was somewhere far away. Seeing this made it easier to think about why Greed was standing on the ledge when I was skating by. The assumption I made when he was standing there was wrong. Greed might've been scared to die, but death meant surviving this.
I couldn't hear what he was saying but he was whispering something in Greed's ear and the proximity in which he did so had my stomach churning with disgust. I looked away and felt like I was going to throw up.
Anger was the next thing that came easiest to me.
I knocked hard on the door.
As the door unlocked, I saw his father's tan skin and anger bubbled inside of me like boiling water.
"Can I he –
"You fucking pervert!" I screamed and kicked his chins.
He lurched over in surprise and I gripped his short hair and ripped harshly before it slipped out of my hands, "sick motherfucker! I'll fucking rip your throat out, you sadistic stupid child molester – oh fuck...y-you're really tall..."
Greed's father towered over me when I let go of his hair. His brown eyes were cold and I felt a shiver run down my spine at the gleam in his eyes. I took a step back as fear replaced the rage I had felt whilst knocking on the door. His lips pulled up into a spine-chilling smirk and I had so much fear for the man standing in front of me that I felt faint. This man was Satan.
"Father." Greed spat as he pushed past him.
Greed grabbed my bicep so tightly, it felt like my circulation was cutting off. He spun me around and chills shot down my spine as I felt his gaze burning holes in my back.
"C'mon, Beanstalk," Greed whispered and pulled me forward tightly when I went to turn around, "no. Stop. Don't look back."
I felt like I was going to cry.
Greed didn't speak until we were parked under a tree, five streets away.
"Iniko..." Greed snarled darkly as his violet eyes burned with fury. I shrunk back into the seat. "I said to stay in the fucking car –
"I was worried!" I hissed, "I didn't know –
"Shut up, Baby Rabbit." Fingers wrapped around my throat and jerked me closer. His tone was ice but it only fueled the insidious desire that bled into my stomach. "I told you to stay in the car."
Although strangely specific, I felt like he was going to stab me.
Prominent veins ran up the forearm that belonged to the hand that was stretched around my neck. Greed's palm was calloused and rough and I felt like hot lava was being poured down my throat.
His violet eyes glowered down at me. His lips were set in a firm line.
"I'm sorry I was actually fucking worried about you! N-next time, I'll make sure to not fucking care!" I snapped and went to continue ranting but his hand squeezed punishingly and I winced.
"This mouth –" Greed's eyes flickered to my lips and I felt like I was going to pass out from all the blood that rushed down to someplace that shall remain unnamed, "is going to get you killed, Honey Cub."
His violet eyes snapped back up to look at me and he was so close. So close I could feel his hot breath fanning my lips. He smelt so fucking good and his proximity only worsened the dark desire that was now in my bloodstream.
I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not gay.
"G-Greed..." I stuttered and bit my lip nervously, "you're really c-close..."
Greed didn't reply. His lips were so close.
"I won't kiss you," his lips twitched into a mocking smirk, "you're not gay, remember?"
My heart stuttered in my chest as he licked his lips, "shut the fuck up you dumb apparition."
"Shut up, Puppy." Greed growled and jerked me closer.
"Stop telling me to fucking shut up! I never tell you to shut up, dumb bitch! Fuck! Sto-op..."
Greed's grip became bruising and I should have screamed at him. I should have cursed him out for hurting me, but the pain wasn't just painful. It was dark. It was sinister. And it shouldn't have turned me on.
"He knows your face now, Baby Angel." Greed's violet eyes flashed with anger, "don't ever come looking for me there."
I scoffed when I could breathe again, "I would not come looking for you anyway."
"Don't speak, Carrot." His tone softened before it hardened, "now, that you've seen that, you should know that you're the only one I have left. Don't ever do something so stupid. Ever. Again."
"What else did you want me to do?" I sighed, "Greed, h-he had his hands on you! I-I couldn't just watch!"
Greed's eyes turned to ice and he let go of my neck. I shrunk back into my seat and pulled my legs up to my chest. "Then you should have looked away, Cuddle Bear."
"You lied to me!" I growled, "you told me walking away was easy! Looking away would have been fucking harder you albino bitch – he was hurting you!"
"He wasn't hurting me." Greed sighed and pulled away.
"Not physically, maybe." I sniffled before I spat, "but don't worry, next time, I'll remember that I'm an asshole who doesn't care."
"Iniko..." A warning.
"What the hell did you have to get anyway?" I grumbled as I avoided him entirely and looked out the window.
Greed threw a small, black book that looked ready to disintegrate as he spoke, on the dashboard, "this."
I picked it up with shaky hands – making Greed angry was a fucking sport, which I was good at too and required copious amounts of adrenalin, hence the shaking...it wasn't like his lips have been so close and I – and flicked open the first page.
The pictures were in black and white and each page continued multiple sets of faces that aligned underneath each other. On each page, there was an outlier, a person who had almost white skin, white hair and almost transparent eyes.
"Turn the page."
The next page looked exactly as the last but something was different. The man carrying the gene for albinism had his arms crossed over his chest and peeking from his suit jacket sleeve was the start of the tattoo on Greed's wrist.